Photodetector and electronic apparatus

ABSTRACT

A photodetector includes a semiconductor substrate; a light receiving part for signal detection and an infrared light receiving part which are formed in the semiconductor substrate and are covered at least by first color filters having a common color; and second color filters which overlap with the first color filters on the infrared light receiving part and are configured to block light in a wavelength range transmitting through the first color filters.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/963,348, filed Dec. 9, 2015, and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2014-251714, filed on Dec. 12, 2014, theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a photodetector including colorfilters, and an electronic apparatus including the same.

BACKGROUND

Infrared cut filters can be used to separate an infrared component fromlight incident into a color sensor. For example, a photo-electronicsensor includes a substrate in which a plurality of sensors is formed,an infrared light cut filter covering the sensors on the substrate, anda visible light filter formed on the infrared light cut filter. Theinfrared light cut filter is constituted by a multi-layered film formedby laminating about 50 dielectric layers.

However, since the multi-layered infrared light cut filter is designedon the assumption that light is incident perpendicular to the filter, itis difficult to completely separate an infrared component from lightincident in an oblique direction.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides some embodiments of a photodetectorwhich is capable of advantageously reducing the sensitivity of aninfrared wavelength range. The present disclosure provides someembodiments of an electronic apparatus including a photodetector whichis capable of advantageously reducing the sensitivity of an infraredwavelength range.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provideda photodetector including: a semiconductor substrate; a light receivingpart for signal detection and an infrared light receiving part which areformed in the semiconductor substrate and are covered at least by firstcolor filters having the common color; and second color filters whichoverlap with the first color filters on the infrared light receivingpart and are configured to block light in a wavelength rangetransmitting through the first color filters.

With this configuration, of the light receiving part for signaldetection and the infrared light receiving part which are covered by thefirst color filters having the common color, only the infrared lightreceiving part is selectively covered by the second color filters. Thus,when the same light is incident into the light receiving part for signaldetection and the infrared light receiving part, visible light in apredetermined wavelength range and infrared light are detected in thelight receiving part for signal detection. On the other hand, thevisible light is selectively blocked in the second color filters andonly infrared light having the same level as the infrared light detectedin the light receiving part for signal detection can be detected in theinfrared light receiving part. Therefore, by selectively excluding orattenuating an infrared wavelength range from an output signal of thelight receiving part for signal detection based on the magnitude of anoutput signal of the infrared light receiving part by means of a logiccircuit or the like provided in the inside or outside of thephotodetector, an output signal (information) close to the actualvisible light component of the incident light can be obtained. As aresult, it is possible to calculate illuminance and color temperatureaccurately with a smaller error by using the photodetector according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure.

In addition, since such signal separation process separates only asignal in an infrared wavelength range by a logical operation, it ispossible to advantageously reduce the sensitivity of the infraredwavelength range irrespective of the incident direction of light.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, each of the light receivingpart for signal detection and the infrared light receiving part includesa first pn junction located at the same depth from the surface of thesemiconductor substrate and a second pn junction located to be deeperthan the first pn junction.

There is the effect that a longer light wavelength provides a deeperlight transmission depth in a semiconductor substrate. Therefore, it ispossible to detect the light with high efficiency by selectively usingthe pn junction depending on a wavelength of light to be detected. Inone embodiment of the present disclosure, the first color filtersinclude blue color filters or green color filters and the second colorfilters include red color filters.

The spectral sensitivity curve of light transmitting through the bluecolor filters or the green color filters has separate peaks for a blueor green color wavelength range and an infrared wavelength range.Therefore, when a mountain shaped curve having a peak in the blue orgreen color wavelength range is separated from the spectral sensitivitycurve having these separate peaks, there is apparently left a mountainshaped curve which may be regarded to be derived from the infraredlight. In other words, with this configuration, when light of the blueor green color wavelength range is separated in the red color filters inthe infrared light receiving part, the infrared light can be easilydetermined.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first color filtersinclude red color filters and the second color filters include bluecolor filters or green color filters. In this case, each of the lightreceiving part for signal detection and the infrared light receivingpart may include a first pn junction located at the same depth from thesurface of the semiconductor substrate and a second pn junction locatedto be deeper than the first pn junction.

Unlike the light transmitting through the above-described blue colorfilter or the green color filter, the spectral sensitivity curve oflight transmitting through the red color filter does not apparently haveseparate peaks for a red color wavelength range and an infraredwavelength range. Therefore, in the infrared light receiving part, it isdifficult to selectively determine the infrared light when just usingthe blue color filter or the green color filter to separate the redlight. For the purpose of avoiding this problem, this configuration usesthe effect that a longer light wavelength provides a deeper lighttransmission depth in the semiconductor substrate. In other words, inthe light receiving part for signal detection, the red light is mainlydetected in the first pn junction which is formed at a relativelyshallow position and is suitable for detection of the red light havingthe wavelength shorter than that of the infrared light. On the otherhand, in the infrared light receiving part, infrared light can bedetected in the second pn junction which is formed at a relatively deepposition and is suitable for detection of the infrared light having thewavelength longer than that of the red light. Thus, the infrared lightcan be selectively determined with ease.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the light receiving partfor signal detection is disposed at positions which are in pointsymmetry with respect to the center of a light receiving region on thesemiconductor substrate. With this configuration, even when light is notsufficiently incident into some light receiving parts for signaldetection for such a reason that the light does not uniformly hit theentire light receiving region of the semiconductor substrate, the lightcan be detected in other light receiving parts for signal detection,which can provide high reliability.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the photodetector furtherincludes an infrared light cut filter configured to cover the lightreceiving part for signal detection and the infrared light receivingpart. With this configuration, it is possible to more reliably reducethe sensitivity of the infrared wavelength range. In one embodiment ofthe present disclosure, each of the first color filters includes a colorresist.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there isprovided an electronic apparatus including: a photodetector including asemiconductor substrate; a light receiving part for signal detection andan infrared light receiving part which are formed in the semiconductorsubstrate and are covered at least by first color filters having thecommon color; and second color filters which overlap with the firstcolor filters on the infrared light receiving part and are configured toblock light in a wavelength range transmitting through the first colorfilters; and a housing configured to accommodate the photodetector.

With this configuration, since the electronic apparatus includes thephotodetector capable of advantageously reducing the sensitivity of aninfrared wavelength range, it is possible to provide a lens window forlight reception which is formed in the electronic apparatus and has apracticable low visible light transmittance. As a result, it is possibleto extend a degree of freedom of design of the lens window.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exemplary block diagram showing the electricalconfiguration of a photodetector, according to one embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a layout view of a light receiving region of thephotodetector.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the photodetector, which is taken alongline in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the photodetector, which is taken alongline Iv-Iv in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a photodiode shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 6A is a diagram for explaining an infrared light separationoperation in a blue light receiving part.

FIG. 6B is a diagram showing the final spectral sensitivitycharacteristics in the blue light receiving part.

FIG. 7A is a diagram for explaining an infrared light separationoperation in a green light receiving part.

FIG. 7B is a diagram showing the final spectral sensitivitycharacteristics in the green light receiving part.

FIG. 8A is a diagram for explaining an infrared light separationoperation in a red light receiving part.

FIG. 8B is a diagram showing the final spectral sensitivitycharacteristics in the red light receiving part.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the final spectral sensitivitycharacteristics of the photodetector.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of asmartphone which is one example of an electronic apparatus to which thephotodetector is applied.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described in detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an exemplaryblock diagram showing the electrical configuration of a photodetector 1,according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The photodetector1 includes a red light receiving part 2R, a green light receiving part2G, a blue light receiving part 2B, an infrared light cut filter 3covering these light receiving parts 2R, 2G and 2B, and an arithmeticoperation part 4.

The red light receiving part 2R, the green light receiving part 2G andthe blue light receiving part 2B include photodiodes 5R, 5G and 5B,respectively. The photodiodes 5R, 5G and 5B are electrically connectedto the arithmetic operation part 4. Analog/Digital Converters (ADCs) 6are interposed between the arithmetic operation part 4 and thephotodiodes 5R, 5G and 5B. When light is incident into a pn junctionportion of each of the photodiodes 5R, 5G and 5B, a current is generateddue to a photovoltaic effect and is converted from an analog signal to adigital signal in the ADCs 6, which is then input to the arithmeticoperation part 4. The arithmetic operation part 4 performs arithmeticprocessing based on the input digital signal.

The arithmetic operation part 4 is an integrated circuit such as an LSI(Large Scale Integration) or the like and includes various circuitelements such as transistors, capacitors, registers or the like. Thearithmetic operation part 4 is electrically connected to a plurality ofexternal electrodes 7 formed on the outermost surface of thephotodetector 1. Signal output from the arithmetic operation part 4 andpower input to the arithmetic operation part 4 and the photodiodes 5R,5G and 5B are performed through the plurality of external electrodes 7.

FIG. 2 is a layout view of a light receiving region 9 of thephotodetector 1. The photodetector 1 includes a semiconductor substrate8 and a light receiving region 9 formed on the semiconductor substrate8. The red light receiving part 2R, the green light receiving part 2Gand the blue light receiving part 2B have their respective lightreceiving portions which are arrayed in the light receiving region 9.Specifically, the red light receiving part 2R includes a light receivingportion R1 for signal detection and infrared light receiving portions R2and R3, the green light receiving part 2G includes a light receivingportion G1 for signal detection and an infrared light receiving portionG2, and the blue light receiving part 2B includes a light receivingportion B1 for signal detection and an infrared light receiving portionB2. The light receiving portions R1, G1 and B1 for signal detection andthe infrared receiving portions R2, R3, G2 and B2 are provided in theplural. Among these light receiving portions, at least some lightreceiving portions R1, G1 and B1 for signal detection are disposed atpositions which are in point symmetry with respect to the center C(i.e., the center of gravity) of the light receiving region 9 which hasa square shape when viewed from the top. Similarly, the plurality ofinfrared light receiving portions R2, R3, G2 and B2 may be disposed atpoint-symmetrical positions, as shown in FIG. 2. Accordingly, even whenlight is not sufficiently incident into some light receiving portionsR1, G1 and B1 for signal detection for such a reason that the light doesnot uniformly hit the entire light receiving region 9 of thesemiconductor substrate 8, the light can be detected in other lightreceiving portions R1, G1 and B1 for signal detection, which can providehigh reliability. For example, even when the incidence of light into alower side edge of the light receiving region 9 is insufficient and thelight cannot be well detected in light receiving portions R1 and B1 forsignal detection on the lower side edge, the light can be detected inlight receiving portions R1 and B1 for signal detection on an upper sideedge of the light receiving region 9.

In FIG. 2, for the purpose of clarity, the reference numerals of the redlight receiving part 2R, green light receiving part 2G and blue lightreceiving part 2B are not shown, and the light receiving portions R1, G1and B1 for signal detection are indicated by a square in white, and theinfrared light receiving portions R2, R3, G2 and B2 are indicated by asquare in cross-hatch. A clear light receiving portion 10 capable ofreceiving visible light and infrared light is formed in a corner of thelight receiving region 9 which has a square shape when viewed from thetop. For example, the clear light receiving portion 10 may be disposedone by one in at least one pair of diagonal corners of the lightreceiving region 9 when viewed from the top. The clear light receivingportion 10 includes a photodiode and is not covered by the infraredlight cut filter 3 (see FIG. 1).

Next, sectional structures of the light receiving portions R1, G1 and B1and infrared light receiving portions R2, R3, G2 and B2 will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG. 3 is a sectional view ofthe photodetector 1, which is taken along line in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is asectional view of the photodetector 1, which is taken along line Iv-Ivin FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a photodiode shown in FIGS. 3and 4.

The light receiving portions R1, G1 and B1 and the infrared lightreceiving portions R2, R3, G2 and B2 include, as common elements, thesemiconductor substrate 8, photodiodes 11 formed on the semiconductorsubstrate 8, and an interlayer insulating film 12 covering the entiresurface of the semiconductor substrate 8. The photodiodes 11 correspondto the photodiodes 5R, 5G and 5B shown in FIG. 1, respectively. For thepurpose of clarity, the reference numerals of the photodiodes 5R, 5G and5B are not shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.

In this embodiment, the semiconductor substrate 8 is a p-type siliconsubstrate. Each photodiode 11 has an npnp structure constituted by afirst n-type region 13, a first p-type region 14, a second n-type region15 and the p-type semiconductor substrate 8 which are formed in thisorder from the surface 8A of the p-type semiconductor substrate 8. Thesecond n-type region 15 is formed in the surface of the p-typesemiconductor substrate 8, the first p-type region 14 is formed in theinner region of the second n-type region 15, and the first n-type region13 is formed in the inner region of the first p-type region 14. As aresult, as shown in FIG. 5, each of the photodiodes 11 has a photodiodeDi1, a photodiode Di2 and a photodiode Di3 including their respective pnjunctions having different depths from the surface 8A of thesemiconductor substrate 8.

The photodiode Di1 includes a pn junction between the first p-typeregion 14 and the first n-type region 13 and the depth of this pnjunction from the surface 8A is, for example, 0.09 μm to 0.17 μm. Thephotodiode Di2 includes a pn junction between the first p-type region 14and the second n-type region 15 and the depth of this pn junction fromthe surface 8A is, for example, 1.0 μm to 1.8 μm, which is deeper thanthe pn junction of the photodiode Di1. The photodiode Di3 includes a pnjunction between the p-type semiconductor substrate 8 and the secondn-type region 15 and the depth of this pn junction from the surface 8Ais, for example, 3.2 μm to 5.9 μm, which is deeper than the pn junctionof the photodiode Di2.

The photodiode 11 including the photodiodes Di1 to Di3 having differentdepths has the following advantages. The silicon substrate has atendency that a longer light wavelength provides a deeper lighttransmission depth. If there are more than one wavelength ranges oflight components to be detected, like the photodetector 1, light can beefficiently detected in any of the photodiodes Di1 to Di3. For example,the photodiode Di1 is suitable for detection of components of a bluewavelength range (for example, 420 nm to 480 nm) and a green wavelengthrange (for example, 500 nm to 560 nm), the photodiode Di2 is suitablefor detection of components of the green wavelength range and a redwavelength range (for example, 590 nm to 680 nm), and the photodiode Di3is suitable for detection of components of an infrared wavelength range(for example, 700 nm to 1300 nm).

In addition to the photodiodes 11, an impurity region of transistorsconstituting the arithmetic operation part 4 may be formed in thesemiconductor substrate 8. In this case, the first n-type region 13, thefirst p-type region 14 and the second n-type region 15 may be formed inthe same process as the impurity region such as a source region (S), adrain region (D), a buried layer for element isolation (L/I, B/L), andso on, which constitute a transistor.

The interlayer insulating film 12 is made of insulating material such assilicon oxide (SiO₂). The interlayer insulating film 12 may be a singlelayer, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, or a multi-layer. A red color filter16R, a green color filter 16G and a blue color filter 16B are formed onthe interlayer insulating film 12 and the infrared light cut filter 3 isformed to cover these filters 16R, 16G and 16B. The infrared light cutfilter 3 may be formed with a multi-layer dielectric film including aplurality of layered (for example, about 50 layers of) SiO₂/TiO₂structures. The infrared light cut filter 3 is a coating film common toall of the light receiving portions for signal detection and infraredlight receiving portions R2, R3, G2 and B2. The red color filter 16R,the green color filter 16G and the blue color filter 16B may be apigment-based color resist, a transparent resist formed using ananoimprint technique, a gelatin film or the like.

Although whether to provide the red color filter 16R, the green colorfilter 16G and the blue color filter 16B depends on the type of anunderlying light receiving portion, color filters of a common color haveto be provided for a light receiving portion for detecting light of thesame color. That is, the red color filter 16R has to be provided for thelight receiving portion R1 for red light detection and the infraredlight receiving portions R2 and R3, the green color filter 16G has to beprovided for the light receiving portion G1 for green light detectionand the infrared light receiving portion G2, and the blue color filter16B has to be provided for the light receiving portion B1 for blue lightdetection and the infrared light receiving portion B2.

In more detail on the arrangement of the color filters 16R, 16G and 16B,a single-layered film of the red color filter 16R is provided for thelight receiving portion R1 for signal detection, a single-layered filmof the red color filter 16R is provided for the infrared light receivingportion R2, and a multi-layered film of the red color filter 16R andgreen color filter 16G (16R corresponding to the upper layer) isprovided for the infrared light receiving portion R3. In addition, asingle-layered film of the green color filter 16G is provided for thelight receiving portion G1 for signal detection and a multi-layered filmof the red color filter 16R and green color filter 16G (16Rcorresponding to the upper layer) is provided for the infrared lightreceiving portion G2. Further, a single-layered film of the blue colorfilter 16B is provided for the light receiving portion B1 for signaldetection and a multi-layered film of the red color filter 16R and bluecolor filter 16B (16R corresponding to the upper layer) is provided forthe infrared light receiving portion B2.

Next, spectral sensitivity characteristics obtained by the operation ofinfrared separation in the red light receiving part 2R, the green lightreceiving part 2G and the blue light receiving part 2B will beindividually described.

(1) Blue Characteristics

With respect to the blue light receiving part 2B, first, when light isincident into the light receiving portion B1 for signal detection andthe infrared light receiving portion B2, blue light and infrared lightare detected in the photodiode Di1 of the light receiving portion B1 forsignal detection. On the other hand, blue light is selectively blockedin the red color filter 16R and only infrared light having the samelevel as the infrared light detected in the light receiving portion B1for signal detection is detected in the photodiode Di1 of the infraredlight receiving portion B2. The spectral sensitivity characteristics atthat time have curves as shown in the left and middle sides of FIG. 6A.A signal of the magnitude in response to the detection of the blue lightand the infrared light is input from the light receiving portion B1 forsignal detection to the arithmetic operation part 4. Then, byselectively excluding or attenuating an infrared wavelength range froman output signal of the light receiving portion B1 for signal detectionbased on the magnitude of an output signal of the infrared lightreceiving portion B2 (B1-B2), an output signal (information) close tothe actual blue light component of the incident light can be obtained.The spectral sensitivity characteristics obtained by such signalseparation process have a curve as shown in the right side of FIG. 6A.In this embodiment, further, since some of the infrared light isfiltered (separated) by the infrared light cut filter 3, the spectralsensitivity curve as shown in FIG. 6B is finally obtained.

As is apparent from FIG. 6A, the spectral sensitivity curve of lighttransmitting through the single-layered film of the blue color filter16B in the light receiving portion B1 for signal detection has separatepeaks for a blue color wavelength range and an infrared wavelengthrange. Therefore, when a mountain shaped curve having a peak in the bluecolor wavelength range is separated from the spectral sensitivity curvehaving these separate peaks, there is apparently left a mountain shapedcurve which may be regarded to be derived from the infrared light. Inother words, according to this embodiment, when light of the blue colorwavelength range is separated in the red color filter 16R in theinfrared light receiving portion B2, the infrared light can be easilydetermined as indicated by the spectral sensitivity curve of theinfrared light receiving portion B2 in FIG. 6A.

(2) Green Characteristics

With respect to the green light receiving part 2G, first, when light isincident into the light receiving portion G1 for signal detection andthe infrared light receiving portion G2, green light and infrared lightare detected in the photodiodes Di1 and Di2 of the light receivingportion G1 for signal detection. On the other hand, green light isselectively blocked in the red color filter 16R and only infrared lighthaving the same level as the infrared light detected in the lightreceiving portion G1 for signal detection is detected in the photodiodesDi1 and Di2 of the infrared light receiving portion G2. The spectralsensitivity characteristics at that time have curves as shown in theleft and middle sides of FIG. 7A. A signal of the magnitude in responseto the detection of the green light and the infrared light is input fromthe light receiving portion G1 for signal detection to the arithmeticoperation part 4. Then, by selectively excluding or attenuating aninfrared wavelength range from an output signal of the light receivingportion B1 for signal detection based on the magnitude of an outputsignal of the infrared light receiving portion G2 (G1-G2), an outputsignal (information) close to the actual blue light component of theincident light can be obtained. The spectral sensitivity characteristicsobtained by such signal separation process have a curve as shown in theright side of FIG. 7A. In this embodiment, further, since some of theinfrared light is filtered (separated) by the infrared light cut filter3, the spectral sensitivity curve as shown in FIG. 7B is finallyobtained.

As is apparent from FIG. 7A, the spectral sensitivity curve of lighttransmitting through the single-layered film of the green color filter16G in the light receiving portion G1 for signal detection has separatepeaks for a green color wavelength range and an infrared wavelengthrange. Therefore, when a mountain shaped curve having a peak in thegreen color wavelength range is separated from the spectral sensitivitycurve having these separate peaks, there is apparently left a mountainshaped curve which may be regarded to be derived from the infraredlight. In other words, according to this embodiment, when light of thegreen color wavelength range is separated in the red color filter 16R inthe infrared light receiving portion G2, the infrared light can beeasily determined as indicated by the spectral sensitivity curve of theinfrared light receiving portion G2 in FIG. 7A.

(3) Red Characteristics

With respect to the red light receiving part 2R, unlike theabove-described blue light receiving part 2B and green light receivingpart 2G, the spectral sensitivity curve of light transmitting throughthe single-layered film of the red color filter 16R in the lightreceiving portion R1 for signal detection does not have separate peaksfor a red color wavelength range and an infrared wavelength range, asshown in the left side of FIG. 8A. Therefore, in the infrared lightreceiving portions R2 and R3, it is difficult to selectively determinethe infrared light when just using the blue color filter 16B or thegreen color filter 16G to separate the red light. For the purpose ofavoiding this problem, this embodiment uses the effect that a longerlight wavelength provides a deeper light transmission depth in thesemiconductor substrate 8.

In other words, as shown in FIG. 8A, in the light receiving portion R1for signal detection, red light is mainly detected in the photodiode Di2formed at a relatively shallow position. Therefore, it is possible toadvantageously detect the red light having a wavelength shorter thanthat of the infrared light in the photodiode Di2.

In the meantime, the infrared light receiving portions R2 and R3 producespectral characteristics close to the infrared band of the lightreceiving portion R1 for signal detection. Specifically, red light andinfrared light are detected in the photodiode Di3 of the infrared lightreceiving portion R2. On the other hand, the red light is selectivelyblocked in the green color filter 16G and only infrared light having thesame level as the infrared light detected in the light receiving portionR1 for signal detection is detected in the photodiode Di3 of theinfrared light receiving portion R3. The detection of the infrared lighthaving the same level as the infrared light detected in the lightreceiving portion R1 for signal detection can be achieved by setting thearea of the infrared light receiving portion R3 to be smaller slightly(by about 10% to 20%) than that of the infrared light receiving portionR2 and changing the material of the color filter. Then, by selectivelyexcluding or attenuating an infrared wavelength range from an outputsignal of the light receiving portion R1 for signal detection based onthe information obtained by a combination of the infrared lightreceiving portion R2 and the infrared light receiving portion R3(R1-(R2-R3), an output signal (information) close to the actual redlight component of the incident light can be obtained. The spectralsensitivity characteristics obtained by such signal separation processhave a curve as shown in the bottom of FIG. 8A. In this embodiment,further, since some of the infrared light is filtered (separated) by theinfrared light cut filter 3, the spectral sensitivity curve as shown inFIG. 8B is finally obtained.

From the above, since the sensitivity of the infrared wavelength rangein each of the light receiving parts 2R, 2G and 2B is reduced by theabove-described arithmetic processing, the spectral sensitivitycharacteristics of the photodetector 1 are obtained as shown in FIG. 9.As is apparent from FIG. 9, the sensitivity of the infrared wavelengthrange can be reduced to a value close substantially to zero. As aresult, it is possible to calculate illuminance and color temperatureaccurately with a smaller error by using the photodetector 1 accordingto this embodiment.

The photodetector 1 can be applied to not only the color sensor but alsoother light sensors such as an illuminance sensor, a proximity sensorand so on. Further, such light sensors can be equipped in a smartphone,a mobile phone, a digital camera, a car navigator, a notebook computer,a tablet PC and so on. Specifically, an application of the photodetector1 to a smartphone will be described below.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of asmartphone 21 which is one example of an electronic apparatus to whichthe photodetector 1 is applied. The smartphone 21 is configured toaccommodate electronic parts in a flat rectangular housing 22. Thehousing 22 has a pair of rectangular main surfaces which are formed inits front and rear sides and bonded to four lateral sides. A displaysurface of a display panel 23 such as a liquid crystal panel, an organicEL panel or the like is exposed to one of the main surfaces of thehousing 22. The display surface of the display panel 23 forms a touchpanel which provides an input interface to users.

The display panel 23 is formed in a rectangular shape occupying most ofthe main surface of the housing 22. A plurality of operation buttons 24is arranged along one short lateral side of the display panel 23. Inthis embodiment, three operation buttons 24 are arranged along the shortlateral side of the display panel 23. A user can manipulate theoperation buttons 24 and the touch panel to perform the operation of thesmartphone 21 to call and execute required functions.

A speaker 25 is disposed near the other short lateral side of thedisplay panel 23. The speaker 25 provides voice sounds during atelephone call and is also used as a sounding unit for reproducing musicdata and so on. A lens window 26 is disposed next to the speaker 25. Thephotodetector 1 is disposed in the housing 22 such that it faces thelens window 26. A microphone 27 is disposed in one lateral side of thehousing 22 near the operation buttons 24. The microphone 27 receivesvoice sounds during a telephone call and can be also used as amicrophone for recording.

Since the smartphone 21 includes the photodetector 1 capable ofadvantageously reducing the sensitivity of an infrared wavelength range,it is possible to provide the lens window 26 for light reception whichis formed in the smartphone 21 and has a practicable low visible lighttransmittance. As a result, it is possible to extend a degree of freedomof design (e.g., change in color, shape and the like) of the lens window26. Although the present disclosure has been described in the above byway of embodiments, the present disclosure may be practiced in differentforms.

For example, although it has been illustrated in the above embodimentsthat the arithmetic operation part 4 is provided as a part of thephotodetector 1, the signal separation process by the arithmeticoperation part 4 may be performed by a logic circuit (CPU or anysuitable part of the electronic apparatus) in the outside of thephotodetector 1. While certain embodiments have been described, theseembodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are notintended to limit the scope of the disclosures. Indeed, the novelmethods and apparatuses described herein may be embodied in a variety ofother forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changesin the form of the embodiments described herein may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the disclosures. The accompanying claimsand their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modificationsas would fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosures.

What is claimed is:
 1. A photodetector comprising: a semiconductorsubstrate; a first light receiving part located on the semiconductorsubstrate and covered by a first filter for a first color; a secondlight receiving part located on the semiconductor substrate adjacent tothe first light receiving part and covered by the first filter for thefirst color; a third light receiving part located on the semiconductorsubstrate adjacent to the first light receiving part and covered by asecond filter for a second color; and a fourth light receiving partlocated on the semiconductor substrate adjacent to the first lightreceiving part and covered by a third filter for the second color. 2.The photodetector of claim 1, further comprising a fifth light receivingpart located on the semiconductor substrate adjacent to the first lightreceiving part and covered by a fourth filter for a third color.
 3. Thephotodetector of claim 2, further comprising a sixth light receivingpart located on the semiconductor substrate adjacent to the fifth lightreceiving part and covered by the fourth filter for the third color. 4.The photodetector of claim 1, further comprising a seventh lightreceiving part located on the semiconductor substrate adjacent to thefourth light receiving part and covered by the second filter for thesecond color.
 5. The photodetector of claim 1, further comprising twoadditional light receiving parts located on the semiconductor substrateand being symmetrical with the first light receiving part and the secondlight receiving part with respect to a center of a light receivingregion on the semiconductor substrate.
 6. The photodetector of claim 1,wherein the first color is green and the second color is red.
 7. Thephotodetector of claim 2, wherein the third color is blue.
 8. Thephotodetector of claim 4, wherein the third light receiving part isdisposed between the first light receiving part and the seventh lightreceiving part.
 9. The photodetector of claim 5, wherein the first tofourth light receiving parts are covered by an infrared light cutfilter.
 10. The photodetector of claim 9, further comprising at leastone clear light receiving part for visible light and infrared light,which is disposed in at least one corner of the light receiving region.11. A photodetector comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a first lightreceiving part located on the semiconductor substrate and covered by afirst filter for a first color; a second light receiving part located onthe semiconductor substrate adjacent to the first light receiving partin a first direction and covered by the first filter for the firstcolor; and a third light receiving part located on the semiconductorsubstrate adjacent to the first light receiving part in a seconddirection and covered by a second filter for the first color.
 12. Thephotodetector of claim 11, wherein the first filter for the first coloroverlaps with a third filter for a second color, which is different fromthe first color, over the first light receiving part.
 13. Thephotodetector of claim 12, further comprising an arithmetic operationpart which is electrically connected to the first to third lightreceiving parts and is configured to selectively exclude or attenuate aninfrared wavelength range from an output signal of the third lightreceiving part based on information obtained by the first and secondlight receiving parts.
 14. The photodetector of claim 11, furthercomprising an infrared light cut filter which covers the first to thirdlight receiving parts.